Winding-machine.



W. F. SMITH.

WINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man 0m16.191s.

Patented Sept. 18, 1917*.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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W. F. SMITH.

WINDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. ISI 1915.

3.246.506. Patemedsept. 18,191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM F. SMITH, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO WESTERN' ELECTRIC COMLPANY, INCORPORATED, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

WINDNG-MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 18, 1217.

To all whom zt'may concern.: i

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Winding-Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to winding mashines, and more particularly to winding heads for insulating conductors for use in telephone cables.

Conductors for use in telephone cables are in general insulated with what is known as Manila paper. A considerable amount of rope liber is used in the manufacture of Manila paper, making it high in tensile strength and easy to run at high rates of speed Without -excessive breakage. Manila paper, however, is more expensive than some other grades of paper, thereby making its use objectionable from an economic stand` point. One of the less expensive grades of paper, and one which has proven satisfactory from an electrical standpolnt for u se in telephone cables, is wood pulp paper. Wood pulp paper is porous and contains a very small amount of tough ber, which makes it very low in tensile strength. n Onaecount of its poor mechanical properties, 1t 1s extremely diiiicult to run it at a high rate of speed without excessive breakage.

The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a winding head which may be run at high speed for applying tape of low 'tensile strength without excessive breakage.

In accordance with one feature of this invention, a machine is constructed in which there is provided means for reducing to a minimum the tension on the insulating material between' the points where it leaves the roll and where it is applied lto the conductor. This means preferably comprises a system of gearingand driving members, by means of which the tension on the tape between the roll and its point of application to the conductor is reduced topa minimum, thereby reducing its tendency to separate when travelin at high speed.

eans is also provided for preventing excessive vibration of tape, due to windage or unsupported lengths, which would be likely `to respond to the machine jars and vibration. This is accomplished byy providing a dat supporting surface or fin, by means of which it may be guided along the spindle to the point of its application on the wire. Preferably the tape is guided along the side of this 'lat surface or fin upon the side opposite to the direction of rotation of the spindle by means of a guide roller, the periphery of which is in a plane tangent to the face of the lin against which the tape bears.

While particular reference is made to the use of this machine for running wood pulp paper, it is obvious that other grades of paper, which maybe either high or low in tensile strength,`may be run commercially on this machine.

The means for minimizing the tension on the tape and for preventing excessive vibrai tionwill be more lfully understood from the following detailed specifications and the-two accompanying sheets of drawings, in which the same reference characters are used throughout to designate the same parts, and lin which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 of a winding head embodying this invention; Fig. 2 is a front` elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1 with parts broken away showing portions of a brake band; Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 showing means foradyusting the tension on the brake band; Fig. 4 is a side elevation 4of a tapered spindle embodying features of this invention; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the winding head.l 'Referring tothe drawings, parts 10 and 11 represent portions of the base supporting a shaft 12 with an opening 13 therein through which the wire to be insulated passes. Shaft 12 is carried inroller bearings 14 which are of standard construction. To the shaft is attached, by means of key 15, a web 16 which carries the major portion of the winding head. Part 17 is a stationary gear which is rigidly connected to the base l1 by means of pins 18 and 19. Parts 10 and 11 are held together by means of threaded screws 20 and 21 which pass through part. 11 and engage threaded recesses in part 10. Stationary gear 17 meshes with gears 22 and 23 which are carried by web 16 and connected thereto by means of screws 24 and 25 and nuts 26 and 27. Gears 22 and 23. in turn mesh with pinions 28 and 29. Pinion 29 is mounted on stad 80 and is held thereto by means of screw 31. 0n the opposite endof stad 30 is mounted guide roller 32 which is held in engagement therewith by means of screw 33. Stati 30 rotates in ball bearings of standard construction.

Guide roller 34 is mounted on a stati and is gear driven in a similar manner to guide roller 32. v

The web, gears and pinions are inclosed in an aluminum casing having ,sides 35 and 36. c y ,o

On shaft 12 and in front of web 16 1s mounted a rotatable face late 37 for supporting -a tape'roll 38. his face plate is made of perforated steel to make it light 'and still give it' suiicient strength. The

plateis mounted on roller bearings 39 and is free to rotate independently of the shaft and other portions of the Windin head. The plate is rotated by means of t etape being drawn off from the periphery of the roll over and around roller 34, and therefore the speed of travel of4 the -face plate is dependent upon the ILP. M. of the head and the size ofthe tape roll on the plate. From this it will be seen that for a given speed 42, and on the opposite side of the hub the' two -ends of the brake-band are engaged by block 43 and screws 44 and 45. The tension of the brake-band is controlled by means of lock nut 46 and adjustable screw 47, the

threaded portion of which engages block 43 and the head of which is set in a recess .in

web 16, the purpose ofthe brake-band be-y ing to apply sucient friction to the hub of the face plate to prevent the plate from running ahead and dealing lout the tape when the head is being brought to a standstill. The tape roll 38-is mounted vonv the front of the face plate and on the shoulder 48. The roll is held in a xed position by means of knife edges 49, which are yV-shaped projections, on the shoulder 48. The innerl diameter of the roll is somewhat smaller'- than the diameter of the shoulder over these knife-edged projections, making itnecessary to exert a slight pressure inforcing the roll into position, and thereby causing the knife edges to embed themselves to a slight degree in the paper roll, and eliminate l the necessity for other means of holding the roll in its proper position. twill beob- .served that vthe spindle and the parts mounted thereon are so constructed as to permit of consecutive pads of 4tape being placed on the face plate without any` parts havin to be removed.

To tie end of the hollow shaft is attached, by means of tapered nut 50, a tapered spindle 51 having a passage 52 therethrough for the *Y 'What is claimed is:

.latence wire to be wound. The spindle may be turned in any position required or may be removed by loosening the tapered nut on the end of the spindle. 0n the base of the spindle is mounted an adjustable bracket 53 which is held thereto by screw 54. The position vof the bracket may be adjusted by means of screw' 55 after first loosening screw 54.

-This adjusting screw threads into .the

bracket 53, and its end bears against a shoulder on the spindle 51. By turning this screw, the desired angle between-the spindle and the bracketv may be accurately obtained, this position being then fixed by tightening the screw 54. stationary guide roll 56 is carried by the adjustable bracket; This guide roll is made conical, as shown, in order to prevent placing unequal stresses on the edges of the tape whenchanging its direc- Y tion of motion. A

A.A narrow metal strip or fin 57, against which the paper rests in passing from guide roller 56 onto the wire, is press fitted into a radial slot in the spindle. The purpose of the strip or fin is to improve the steadiness paper, d ue to windage where the greatest developed surface is exposed, and also prevents the paper from turning over andcausing open spots in the insulation. The fin 57 is, as shown, somewhat shorter .than the spindle so that as the tape leaves the iin it is drawn against the ltapered endof the spindle and therebyformed intoa conical shape before being wrapped on the wire core.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

' The head yrotates clockwise and the tape is run from the periphery of the roll over andy around guide roller 34, thence back along the peripheryv of the roll thereby providing an automatic tensioningmeans and over guide relier 32,` thence around ide roller 56, thence along metal strip' or and onto the wire.' It will be observed that the tape is given a half'turn between geardriven guide roller 32 and stationary guide roller 56.

The best results are obtained byrunning guide rollers 32 and 34 so Ithat their peripheral'speed is slightly greater'than the 'of operation as it prevents vibration of the linear speed of the tape. The purpose'of these gear driven rollers is to obviate the tension or pull on vthe tape, whichv occurs when using stationary rollers.

1. ln a windin hollow spindle having A radial therefrom and presenting a substantia ly flat supportin head, a

said spindle, said bracket being provided with a stationary guide roller. f

2. In a winding head, a hollow. spindle having a tape guiding member projecting a tape'guiding member projecting surface for said tape, and an adjustable racket attached to radiall therefrom and presenting a substantially at supporting surface for said tape, and an adjustable bracket'attachedto said spindle, Said bracket being provided with a conical guide roller.

3. In a Winding head, 'a tapered spindle having a fin extending diagonally thereof for a portion of its length and projecting radially therefrom to provide a substantially flat supporting surface for atape, and

a conical roller attached to said spindle for guiding the tape upon said fin.

4. In a winding head, a tapered spindle, an adjustable bracket mounted thereon, said bracket beingv provided with a stationary roller, and a iin extending diagonally of' said tapered spindle and projecting radially therefrom to. provide a substantially at supporting and guiding surface for a tape.-

5. Ina winding head, a hollow spindle, a finA extending diagonally of said spindle and projecting radially therefrom, and a tape guide roller mounted on said spindle, the periphery of which is in the same plane With the. guiding surface 'of the fin against which the tape bears.

vIn Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 14th day of October A.,D.,

- l WILLIAM F. SMITH. 

